


An Arrangement

by vonvion



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: ;-), Alternate Universe - Human, Eventual Smut, M/M, Mystery, Reaper!Kaneki, Romance, criminal investigator!Kaneki, mutual consent, reporter!Hide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-15 10:14:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7218424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vonvion/pseuds/vonvion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hide never knew the subject of organized crime and envelope journalism would get him to cross paths with the love of his life. Not when he was dead set on furthering his career, his ambitions, his life's work.<br/><br/>The reporter says that he'll do anything for a scoop. Anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introductions

It was faint, how his hands drift over gun holsters and hidden scars.  
  
But Kaneki doesn't continue. He doesn't touch.  
  
He doesn't even feel his pulse quicken as easily as it did before. The chills, fear and unease -- gone. Savagely, he tugs his gloves on further to dress his clammy, cold palms.  
  
Arctic is what he'd thought of them. Years back, they were warm.  
  
The investigator is submerged in his head, thinking, remembering days when blood was still hot in his veins and his actions either thoughtless or impulsive. Kaneki retained his impulse every now and then, but it seems everything else changed.  
  
It all happened during one Wednesday morning.  
  
Kaneki found the world empty when he woke up, not because he slept one month alone in bed, but because of something else entirely. At work, his colleagues noticed his swift, efficient methods that warranted not even an ounce of satisfaction from him at all.  
  
The investigator never smiled, he never laughed.  
  
"I'm bored," is what his eyes revealed behind round-rims and thin glass.  
  
But his routine remained the same.  
  
He still wears his coat, his badge and continues wondering why he hasn't sent in a resignation letter for a job that no longer brought him excitement.  
  
Even now, his habit of evading clusters and crowds of people couldn't be shrugged off.  
  
Kaneki kept doing all that he could just to slink away from interviews, questions and intrigue that fueled newspaper headlines or media upheavals. He says he just hated the noise. In truth, he hated people who pried. People who pushed. He did think then that it was their job, that they were being paid to do it.  
  
But, that didn't mean that his own job description was inclusive of tolerating them to the point of answering the most controversial, most intrusive questions thrown his way.  
  
That in mind, the investigator continued hiding.  
  
He hid up on the building's rooftop, red and blue lights below projecting back on his glasses. Police sirens have been silent minutes before, and reporters started flooding outside the officers' cars.  
  
_What a mess,_ he thinks, the whole thing is gonna be big news. It was no wonder why the serial killer continued his work. Look at all the free publicity he's getting.

 _That,_ and the thrill and adrenaline, of course.  
  
Kaneki's remembers feeling that same _rush_ before -- from pulling triggers and slugging criminals during most interrogations. The power -- surreal and secure, all his for the taking. Maybe that's why he kept being an investigator. Just so he could still feel his hands against skin. Not to touch, but to hurt. In a way, this was the only type of excitement he's able to feel anymore.  
  
The excitement of inflicting pain.  
  
Kaneki's thoughts are clipped short when he hears the entrance door creak.  
  
He sighs.  
  
"--I'm not in the mood to talk," he clarified, voice acid. "...Leave."  
  
The investigator feels the body behind him stop. They're not breathing, having stilled completely in surprise. And then they laugh. Squeaking rubber soles follow, further and further towards the investigator who hid guns beneath his midnight coat.  
  
"I'm just here for the view. Not for you," they say, tone entirely too light, too warm.  
  
The stranger, despite being beside Kaneki, remained ignored by the other. His eyes glint and glitter as the evening grew darker, clouds covering up the moon.  
  
Indeed, he wasn't in search of a conversation, having proved his intentions with the way he leaned against the railings, head tipped forward to indulge in the chaos below. Kaneki stares from the corner of his eyes and sees a small smile. He wonders why the stranger liked seeing people from above, on a higher, quieter place.  
  
Perhaps, he'd been like Kaneki as well.  
  
A wind sweeps past his long, uncut hair and the strands scatter only to be slicked back into place. Thereafter, the investigator spoke.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't know."  
  
"Well, what did you think you knew? Who'd you thought I was?"  
  
The stranger shifts his position, elbow propped on the railing, cheek against his palm. White teeth are bared in a bright grin, as if what remained of a laugh stuck to his expression. Kaneki was side-eyeing him again, although this time, his gaze lingered.  
  
"I thought you were a reporter. "  
  
"...Not without a cameraman, I'm not."  
  
He was silent for a while, as he let the investigator hear his muted panic. Kaneki, however, did not turn his head. He let the stranger be.  
  
"My cameraman's in the hospital after getting confined last Monday. I'd say they're reckless but..."  
  
Kaneki hears him chuckle, albeit softly.  
  
_"Ah,_ I'll stop here. You don't need to know such sad stuff like that anyway. It's bad for the heart."  
  
"...I don't mind."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I guess. So long as it's you." _So long as you keep me company._  
  
"Then, call me Hide if you like me that much." He laughs, and it wasn't rigid, nor was it forced. The sound was inviting, grabbing him close to ease out a giggle, or just the tiniest of smiles.  
  
"Isn't it difficult?" Kaneki breathes, looking at him still.  
  
"Difficult how...? What do you mean?"  
  
The investigator tilts his head and was met with a view of the evening, starless sky. At the far right was the crescent moon, a lone light.  
  
"How can you laugh when you can't even do what you want because of someone else's mistake?"  
  
Kaneki didn't expect an answer from that.  
  
He was ready endure a slap, a punch, anything to mar his image of the kindly reporter.  
  
But Hide didn't lift a finger on the investigator.  
  
"I forgive and forget?" he shakes his head. "Not really the deepest, most introspective explanation, I know but. It works. That's what matters right?"  
  
Hide's words die with a sigh, and slowly, he lets his eyelids fall. If it were morning, Kaneki would've noticed the wet glimmer on his long, blond lashes. He would've stopped him from talking entirely.  
  
But it was night and he couldn't see. He didn't know.  
  
"I guess the reason I pulled off that whole 'forgiving' thing, was because they were so important to me. Heck, I'm just glad they're alive," Hide says, eyes now open.  
  
"...That reminds me, you haven't told me your name yet."  
  
Kaneki is quiet. He stares at Hide and watches him wait.  
  
Even the investigator himself would rather forget his own name, his own _identity_ since it'd been dropped mostly out of envy or contempt. But even so, it seems Hide still wanted to know despite all that...  
  
Suddenly, something icy lands on his cheek. It trickles down to settle at his chin, warning of rain, or most probably -- a storm.  
  
Naturally, both men head for the rooftop's exit. The downpour that followed after was abrupt with no build-up towards the steady, drenching shower.  
  
They close the door then, muffling the sound of the rain that rumbled outside. Once there, Kaneki sees nothing but a blur. There'd been fog on his glasses that prompts him to take them off and wipe them.  
  
Hide observes him, focus fixed on the other, much quieter man.  
  
Once the glasses were cleaned and clear, the reporter's gaze was reluctantly torn away from the view. The investigator looks over to him, and could almost detect a sense of restraint from Hide, as though he was biting on his tongue.  
  
  
He nearly smiles.  
  
"-- my name, you asked for it, right? It's Kaneki."  
  
"Kaneki..." The reporter says softly, treating it delicately. "Thank you."  
  
Underneath the light, Hide's eyes crinkle at the corners and reveal a rich honey hue. The shade was dark, yet felt like the opposite.  
  
It felt warm.  
  
Kaneki wonders then how they'd look with tears welling on the waterline, eyelids thereafter scrunching in discomfort. He'd wait for those tears to drip, as they leave a salty wet trail on Hide's freckled skin.  
  
Maybe he'd even drag a tongue to taste it, remember it.  
  
Would those eyes feel warm, even then? Or will they turn dull --  
  
like his?  
  
_I need to know._  
  
"Give me your number," Kaneki finds himself saying.  
  
Hide's brows rise and his expression turned into one of contemplation.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I --  
  
_I want to break you._  
  
"I want to help you once your cameraman's done recuperating... If ever a new crime scene pops out, I'll see to it that you'll be the first one to know."  
  
The blond blinked.  
  
His guard is raised as he stands unconvinced that there would be nothing in return for the investigator's efforts. One look at him, and he knows that Kaneki is an insatiable, unsatisfied man. Hide knows --  
  
but he pretends he doesn't.  
  
The reporter was a reporter after all, and denying himself what wanted, needed, was not one of his many traits. He supposes then, that maybe the two of them shared common ground. Maybe they were both crazy.  
  
"What do you want me to do? This isn't free, right?"  
  
He scoffs. At first, the investigator wasn't going to mention the fee, after having already donned his mask to act. But now that Hide knows...  
  
"I haven't thought about that. If I do make a decision, though, then I'll tell you. But for now --"  
  
Kaneki inches closer to him, gloved hand reaching out towards that mouth left ajar, maybe in shock, maybe to rile. Hide, however, stood tall and undeterred.

He doesn't flinch.  
  
He doesn't object.  
  
Slowly, fingers graze rain-washed skin -- still damp.  
  
Then, Kaneki begins to touch.  
  
The leather is foreign on his lips as the investigator pushes and pulls, feeling the plump flesh underneath. He couldn't feel Hide's exhales through the fabric, he could only hear his own heart's thrumming, his panting.  
  
Kaneki shivers.

 

_"I'll do it for free."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u so so much for the support ~|^-^|~

The reporter hasn't made contact with Kaneki since then. Each day of the past week left his phone's inbox empty of an unknown number or even just the predicted, sleazy text or two. He found himself wondering, over a cup of coffee and breakfast, that maybe he was wrong.  
  
Which was rare.  
  
The reporter ignored the off-putting thought, eating quickly and almost choking. He coughs and his eyes water. Gingerly, he dabs at the corners, thereafter drawn to the sound of a camera's flash going off.  
  
Hide stills, staring at Chie and her cheeky smile. "You make the best faces. I couldn't resist."  
  
"Wait 'til I'm actually posing," he sticks his tongue out, standing up with his dirtied dishes in hand. "Speaking of poses, shouldn't you be taking your mugshot by now? Trespassing private property isn't really legal, you know."  
  
She shrugs.  
  
The cameraman then picks at a bandage attached to her neck, later digging her nails on a particularly itchy, sweaty spot. She reckons the gash is starting to heal by now, it would be better _if_ \--  
  
" _Hey!_ Don't take it off. Doctor said not to."  
  
Hide flicks her forehead, not leaving until that hand of hers was flat on the table. Chie rolls her eyes. "I'm not a kid."  
  
The plate, mug, and bowl clatter then, clashing with the metal sink to produce a brief noise. Hide grabs a sponge, squirts soap on it and begins to scrub.  
  
He hears a sigh from his guest.  
  
"...You know, I did those cops a favor. If it wasn't for my screw up, they wouldn't have discovered a drug den. They're too stupid to."  
  
"Well. Not all of them. Some are pretty interesting enough."  
  
  
_\---just not honest, though._  
  
  
Then again, it wasn't like Hide was a prime example of integrity either. He lied often, engulfed in intentions -- whether they were good or bad it didn't matter so long as he got what he wanted. And he pretended, did it so often he lost himself completely. What was fake? What was real?  
  
Hide didn't know. But he kept smiling nonetheless.  
  
He kept wearing the guise until it became a true, tangible part of him.  
  
" _Bullshit,_ " Chie interjects, ending it with a laugh. "They get all the credit, especially those investigators. Sitting all day on their asses, won't even move without getting paid extra."  
  
She keeps fiddling with her camera, face strained as she deletes one blur after the other. They eat up her storage space and sum up to at least 50 or so during the past week. Chie's sliver of self-control always waned when it came to cameras. It tempted her especially when someone needn't be coerced into modelling or when they looked the most natural.  
  
Hide glances at his cameraman, somewhat seeing a woman after his own heart -- equally invested in people, who always wanted to know more and _see_ more.  
  
With every snap and snippet of a memory she took, a little bit of her exterior shell broke off to reveal a fragile, childish side.That in mind, Hide grins genuinely this time, now comprehending why he acted like a fool or pretended.  
  
Sometimes he did it for others than himself. Sometimes he did it to make his loved ones happy.  
  
If Chie knew that Hide's heart nearly tore in half upon being informed that she'd been hospitalized , then it would just impede her recovery.  
It'd only been Kaneki, that stranger during that one night, who saw him in his weakest.  
  
  
Only Kaneki.  
  
  
"Yeah," he agrees, fingertips frozen from his opened faucet. Water pours into his cupped hands, spilling to rinse away suds and soap. Their pressure is light, yet entirely too cold to endure longer than he has.  
  
Hide turns it off.  
  
"Do you think they always ask for money as payment?" The reporter watches the sink longer, hesitating. "Or do they ask for something else?"  
  
Confused, Chie cocks a brow and lifts her gaze up -- towards Hide's hunched back, vulnerable and uneasy. She scoffs. "What exactly would they want _other_ than money?"  
  
"How about a kiss?" He says quickly.  
  
"Well. Does it matter? You get what you both want, right?"  
  
"..."  
  
Dimmed, downcast eyes fix on nothing. Teeth catch the skin of Hide's lip as he gnawed on it thoughtlessly. His whole apartment is devoid of sound, yet his ears pulse as blood rushes through veins, coloring his cheeks red and plunging his head into anarchy.  
  
For once, Hide didn't know what he wanted.  
  
  


\---

  
  
  
"Got anything on your mind?"  
  
"Nothing to talk about," Kaneki admitted as he sat on a bar stool beside his partner, Furuta. The older man sipped at his rum then, a smile preceded with silence being his only reply.  
  
"I just feel a little sick," he continues.  
  
Discreetly, the bartender urges the pair to down a whole bottle of wine, finely aged and handsomely discounted for the two officers, who for the first time, visited his shop. Furuta received it tentatively. He looks towards his superior waiting for that little nod of permission.  
  
  
Kaneki obliged.  
  
  
"Thanks, boss."  
  
A full-bodied pop from the pulled cork sets loose the smell of alcohol wafting in the air. After taking a final swig from what's left in his glass, Furuta pours red wine up until the very brim. He presses his lips on its smooth edge, knowing better off not to offer the first taste to his partner.  
  
He's often reminded that Kaneki doesn't drink.  
  
"...Do I look like I have something on my mind?"  
  
Kaneki pushes his glasses that have slid down from the bridge of his nose, nearly falling off his face as he tilted his head down to rest. A subtle pain throbbed beneath the skin of his temples.  
  
The investigator claimed it as fatigue. Furuta, however, suspects it as stress.  
  
With another sip, he skillfully plays along -- unusually attentive to his younger boss. In the end, Furuta could only resign to the idea that Kaneki could believe whatever he wanted to.  
  
He liked lying to himself, after all.  
  
"You seem kinda different. More like, detached? Maybe?" His lips upturn, soon showing teeth in the presence of a slimy, shallow smirk.  
  
"Don't worry, though, sir. You just need to relax. Get yourself some company tonight, _have some fun._ "  
  
That shady, entirely suggestive look he threw at a woman poised near his far right had Kaneki considering the advice. It drew his attention to the smooth silk of her skin, her dress, her hair. She appeared soft yet self-possessed as the cocktail she held steadily emptied through her painted and pursed mouth. Time passes, and they meet each other's gaze.  
  
She grins --but the image of another face pops in Kaneki's thoughts...  
  
  
It was Hide's.  
  
  
"Let's go," the investigator says suddenly, head feeling fluid.  
  
Patrons then move in to replace the seats they've left, scrambling and sober as they sit down to wait for orders of hard whiskey and foreign liquor. Kaneki looks over his shoulder, glancing at them shortly while he can't help but find their method useless, thinking that it takes more than nightly alcohol to make him unsee what he's just witnessed, what he hasn't _forgotten._  
  
Kaneki didn't expect the reporter to be this memorable.  
  
He'd wanted to be the one doing the marking, the imprinting. Not the other way around. Hide was only supposed to be a passing fancy, a whim.  
  
  
 _When did that all change?_  
  
  
Bitterly, the investigator clenches his fists and gets in his car.  
  
"This is the last time I'll go with you out for a break, Furuta -- I hope you've had your fill."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okie so this chapter is kind of a filler but i didn't wanna rush into things u know, im just laying in the groundwork before The Big One™. (I'll make the next update amazing)


End file.
